Anti-Aging Strategies for Health and Longevity
All the Energy You Ever Wanted
By Steven and Rose Novil

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All the Energy you Ever Wanted

This column’s primary focus is on anti-aging. Aging does not necessarily have to be a downhill process. You can have lots of energy at any age, and believing that pain and illness are inevitable can be self-defeating. Having the energy levels you had in your teens or early twenties is achievable if you follow the right regimen. In this month’s column, we will present research and information on different nutrients, foods, and healthy lifestyle changes to help you obtain more energy and to help increase your immune functions. We will be mentioning specific products by brand name if we consider them to be outstanding, otherwise, please ask your health care professional or health food store for suggestions.

Vitamin B12

The conventional medical model to increase energy is to use stimulants injected directly into the muscle. Some of you may have heard of B12 injections. Quoting from Prescription for Nutritional Healing by Balch and Balch, “Vitamin B12 deficiency is a particular problem. A lack of vitamin B12 can lead to the development of neurological symptoms ranging from tingling sensations, inability to coordinate muscular movements, weakened limbs, and lack of balance, to memory loss, mood changes, disorientation, and psychiatric disorders. Symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency can easily be misinterpreted as signs of senility. Many older people become deficient in vitamin B12 because they do not produce adequate amounts of stomach acid for proper digestion. This creates a perfect environment for overgrowth of certain bacteria that steal whatever vitamin B12 is extracted from protein in the digestive tract. Other people do not produce enough of a substance called intrinsic factor, without which vitamin B12 can not travel from the stomach to the rest of the body even if nothing else is standing in its way.”

As stated above, it is apparent how important vitamin B12 is in maintaining health. An alternative way to take vitamin B12, other than injection, is as a supplement sublingually (under the tongue).

Absorption

As you age, the digestive system naturally slows down. Research has shown that supplements taken orally in pill form may not be ingested fully. Absorption is the key to the most effective utilization of any nutrients. It is recommended that all supplements should be taken sublingually or under the tongue, in liquids or in powdered form. These formulations are much more readily absorbed and as a result, work much more efficiently.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is one of the most effective antioxidants protecting the body from free radical invasion and is a super anti-inflammatory. It is especially useful when combined with calcium and other B vitamins found in the powdered formulation EmergencC by Alacer. Look for the Lite formulation without sugar or fructose.

CoEnzyme Q10

CoEnzyme Q10 in gel capsules for easier absorption protects the heart and aids oxygenation to the tissues to assist with all bodily functions.

Green Drinks

At one time people could get all the nutrients they needed from the food they ate. This, unfortunately, is not true anymore. Most of us do not know the conditions that our food is grown under. Pesticides, herbicides, and genetic engineering, to name a few, have interfered with the nutrient absorption in our food. In order to enhance nutrient supplementation, add green drinks, which are powdered mixtures of live foods such as barley, alfalfa and wheat grasses, spirulina, blue-green algae, and chlorella. They are a natural way to absorb many essential vitamins and minerals through food and give you lots of energy. There are many excellent brands of these green food drinks available in health food stores and through online shopping

Colostrum

Mother’s milk is the ideal food for humans to consume at birth. Colostrum is the nutrient found in Mother’s milk that boosts the child’s immunity. It is one of the ultimate anti-aging and immune supplements. Bovine colostrum is available in supplement form in health food stores and through online shopping. Try to get colostrum derived from cows not given hormones, and check with your health care professional when deciding on which brand to purchase because quality varies.

Digestive Aids

Aging results in slower digestion, less production of HCL (hydrochloric acid). Supplements such as acidophilus and bifodus may assist you with digesting your food better and replacing friendly bacteria, assisting with fighting candida infections. We recommend Kyo-dophilus by Wakunaga, found in health food stores and through online shopping.

Lecithin Granules or Capsules

Lecithin helps to promote energy and enhance immunity. Lecithin is naturally derived from soybeans. Try to purchase organic lecithin if possible.

Foods to Avoid

Sugar is your worst enemy. Even if the initial response is instant energy, the long term effect is extreme fatigue. In fact, eating sugar after dinner may affect a good night’s sleep and many people report having nightmares when sugar is consumed before bedtime. Remember that the quality of sleep has a direct effect on your energy levels during the day.

Try to avoid processed foods that are high in sugar. Make sure to read the food labels because sugar is referred to by many names, for example, maltodextrin, dextrose, sucrose, glucose, corn sweetener, and fructose, and alcohol (which is a liquid sugar). Artificial sweeteners have other detrimental effects on health including creating cravings for more sweets.

Diabetes is at epidemic proportions in the United States. Balancing your blood sugar is very important as you age. It requires relatively little effort to avoid sugary foods and once you get into what nutritionists call “good blood sugar” it is easy to maintain.

Food Lifestyle Changes

The first most critical diet change to remember is to eat several small meals throughout the day consisting of fresh vegetables (lots of green leafy salads) and fruits, proteins in the form of lean meats, turkey, chicken, eggs, cheeses and fish, and unrefined carbohydrates such as whole grains. Avoid deep fried food.

A good trick to remember is to eat before you feel that you are starving. When you get to the point of feeling starved, your cravings kick in and “eating anything in sight,” especially convenience foods like candy bars, cakes, Twinkies, pies, (you get the picture) wreaks havoc on your system. You then get on the “energy high and energy low roller coaster.” This eating pattern depletes your body of energy, creating feelings of fatigue. When you eat several small meals during the day, you can maintain sustained energy levels.

Exercise

Introduce exercise into your life on a regular basis. Choosing walking, swimming, any form of movement, is essential to anti-aging and high energy. Production of endorphins, which are naturally occurring hormones resulting from exercise, enhances feelings of well being, energy and health. The easiest exercise is walking. Walk with a buddy for motivation, but be sure to pace yourself. Consistency is the key to exercising; remember that any habit, if maintained for three weeks, is “yours.”

Attitude

Try to think positively. Treat yourself to a funny movie or go to a comedy play. Restrict watching the news—this depresses anyone. Surround yourself with beautiful things that make you happy. Be thankful for all the good things and people in your life and to the Creator. Give of yourself. Try not to dwell on past negative experiences and forgive yourself for not being perfect. What you think about, you become.

Although these words may sound like clichés, by changing your attitude you can improve your health which is key to anti-aging.

A word of advice. It took many years for your health problems to develop, so be patient, for it will take some time for your new lifestyle habits to take effect. The body normally heals itself and many cells are replaced every thirty, sixty or ninety days depending on their function and location, so hang in there—you can do it. Helping you to become pro-active and informed partners in creating your own personal anti-aging programs is our hope.

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Steven and Rose Novil are both doctors of nutrition and naturopathy. Steven practices in Chicago and has lectured at international conferences on Anti-Aging as well as locally, and is an advisor to major supplement companies. In addition to her degrees in health, Rose is also a Professor of Library Services, consulting with Steven and researching new developments in the field of Anti-Aging. Their goal is to help people become pro-active and informed partners in creating their own personal anti-aging programs.

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